Wayward Son
by JtheBard
Summary: Harry Potter has been through a lot in his life, but can anything prepare him for the betrayal of his own son?


**Disclaimer** : I am a college student, so that means I am poor, which means that I do not own Harry Potter or anything to do with his world...sadly

 **Timeline** : The story starts in 2022. James is nineteen years old.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter has been through a lot in his life, but can anything prepare him for the betrayal of his own son?

Chapter One: The Fallout

Harry stared at the letter he held in front of him, looking at it, but not really seeing it. He didn't have to, he had memorized it long ago, each word burned in his brain for what he was sure would be an eternity. For what seemed like the hundredth time, he carefully folded the worn parchment and slowly placed it in it's special spot in the lower right drawer of his desk. Then, as always, he leaned back in his chair and fought back tears.

He was a strong man, or thought he was, but this situation, this ate at him like nothing else could. And what was worse was that he could do little, if anything about it.

His own son, James Potter had turned dark.

Not only had he turned dark, but he had turned his back on his family, and blamed his father for it. His reasoning, as was explained in the letter, was that he, James, had finally gotten tired of living in Harry's shadow and failing, at least in his mind, to live up to the legend of his father. That neither Harry, Ginny or anyone else for that matter ever placed those expectations on James in the first place didn't seem to matter.

James had apparently tired of failing to live up to his father's high standards and had removed himself from his family, and from society, at least as far as Harry could tell. In his first letter, James had explained to his father that it was like having something preached to you constantly every day, forced down your throat, and you were expected to like it. Eventually, James said, he got fed up and rebelled against all that his family had taught him through the years. He said that maybe Voldemort and his followers had the right idea after all. That he was not a pureblood himself did not seem to matter.

This last was shouted at Harry and Ginny during their last meeting with James. The argument had started small, but as in similar cases, it had escalated into a shouting match. James had reached his boiling point and had stormed out of the family home after telling his parents that he wanted nothing more to do with them and their "goody two shoes" beliefs.

That had been nearly two years ago, and no one in the family had seen James since. During that two years, the family had moved on. Harry, having spent ten years as DASA Professor and Head of Gryffindor after a relatively short, but successful career as an auror...rising to the ranks of Head Auror before handing over the reins to Ron and heading to Hogwarts, Harry was now Headmaster after Minerva McGonnagal suddenly stepped down after the last school term.

Albus had immediately joined the aurors after his graduation, and was currently in training under his Uncle Ron. Lily was in her seventh year, and Harry had to admit that he loved having her around so much. His only daughter had aspirations to study to be a healer, and he was certain she was well on her way to doing so.

Ginny had taken up the post of flying instructor at the school, and had quickly become a student favorite. Hermione had just been elected Minister of Magic, the youngest in that position in over a century. Though no one that knew her was surprised.

Yes, life was, for the most part very good for Harry, save for the major issue with James.

He got up, stretched and was about to make his way out of the office to meet Ginny for dinner, when for some unknown reason, he felt compelled to look at his son's latest letter one more time. Feeling as though he may regret it, he shuffled behind the desk again, and took out the parchment, opening it slowly. There, printed in James' untidy scrawl, were three simple words..."I'm not alone."

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but this is to just set the stage. This is my first Potter fic, so please be gentle! I have an awesome story in mind, and I hope you stick around!...J


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